My buddy's dad called Catan 'the new bridge' and it hit me hard

Was at a game night last week at my friend's place in Denver. His dad walked in, saw us setting up Catan, and just laughed. Said 'you kids and your hexagons, this is what bridge was for us.' He sat down and watched for 20 minutes. Started asking about trading rules, settlement placement, the robber. At first I thought he was making fun. But then he said the thing that got me - 'every generation needs a game where you can talk trash the whole time.' He was right. My dad had his poker nights, his dad had bridge. We got Catan and Wingspan and all this euro stuff. Same table energy though. Same arguments over trades. Same inside jokes that last years. Makes me wonder what my kids will be playing. Probably something on a screen where you don't even need to be in the same room. That part bums me out a little. Anyone else have an older relative who made you see your hobby differently?

2 comments

2 Comments

carr.elliot16d ago

I had a friend whose grandpa called Ticket to Ride "train bridge for people who don't like getting yelled at." He sat in on one of our game nights and ended up playing three rounds of Carcassonne with us, just nodding and saying "oh I see, it's about blocking your neighbor the whole time." Makes you realize the bones of these games have been the same forever, just the pieces changed.

shanem3716d ago

Is it just the blocking though, or is it more about the tension between doing what's good for you versus messing someone else up? I've noticed in games like Catan and even something like Azul, there's this weird social pressure where you feel bad taking a spot someone clearly needs, but grandpa was right that those are the winning moves. My buddy's dad calls it "polite warfare" because you're smiling while you slide that last road tile in front of their settlement. End of the day, most of these board games are just teaching you how to be a little bit of a jerk in a safe space.